Rick Remender drops Flash Thompson into his first super hero melee where Steve Rogers, Anti-Venom and more await

Published

May 11, 2011

Updated

May 13, 2011

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By Ben Morse

It will take a special caliber of weapon to stem the chaos of Spider-Island, and Flash Thompson may be the only person with the artillery for the job!

This August, VENOM #6 by Rick Remender and Tom Fowler sees the Symbiotic Soldier deployed into the heart of infected New York City in an attempt to stop the infestation of spider-powered civilians from leaving its confines. Once he’s in, Flash will quickly become embroiled in the biggest super-powered fracas he’s been a part of to date.

VENOM #6 cover by Tony Moore

“At the point when Venom is dropped in, [somebody] is making their way [across] the George Washington Bridge, having just freshly beaten the hell out of Gravity and Firestar, throwing tanks around and trying to leave Manhattan to go spread the disease,” previews Remender. “People will be very astounded when they find out who this [individual] actually is. We get a nice moment with Gravity and then Venom is basically the last man standing. He’s responsible for making sure this doesn’t spread, and then gets intertwined in the story in a pretty major way.

“[AMAZING SPIDER-MAN writer] Dan Slott] and [Senior Editor] Steve Wacker and I spent a lot of time making sure that Venom wasn’t superfluous or unnecessary. We figured out some very big power chord moments. We’ll be seeing a big fight between Venom and Anti-Venom. I don’t want to give away the whys and what-fors, but that plays a giant role in the story.”

Eddie Brock will not be the only familiar face popping up, as characters both close to Flash and whom he’s encountering for the first time alternately aid and hinder his mission.

“Steve Rogers plays a big role,” Remender reveals. “At the same time, Flash’s dad is in the hospital, terminally ill, and Betty Brant is there with him, calling Flash and letting him know he better get there quickly because his father doesn’t have much time. So [Venom] has a ticking time bomb while he’s trying to hold the city together and do what he can to stave off an invasion of sorts, but in the background is the fact that his father is in the hospital across town and is very ill.”

As if that doesn’t put enough on our hero’s plate, he’ll also face some harsh lessons firsthand that could serve to either strengthen his resolve or break him once and for all.

Anti-Venom

“He’ll see the real accomplishment of Spider-Man in how he has used his power,” says Remender of a more metaphorical journey for Venom. “A lot of the people who are given these spider powers are not going to use them for good. It turns into a lot of looting and a lot of chaos. It reaffirms the importance of an ethical foundation and moral compass; it continues to build his respect for Spider-Man as somebody who has these powers and always chose to use them for the greater good.”

Speaking of that friendly neighborhood Wallcrawler, with all the arachnids running loose across Manhattan, could Venom and his idol come face-to-face? Remender answers short and sweet:

“Yeah. They will.”

Check back each morning this week on Marvel.com for another Spider-Island announcement, and for even more information and other goodies, visit our Spider-Island event page.

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